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In the last decade or so, writing has been overcome by blogging. More people are coming forth to share their feelings through blogging platforms or through their own personal blogs. However, in this whole scenario where expressing oneself has become so easy, somewhere creative writing has overcome with expressions that do not belong to its format.

And we say this because there is quite some difference between expressing through a blog post and creative writing. And not many identify them as separate forms of expression. Let us attempt at clarifying this.

Here is how:

LanguageThe writing conventions are different in a blog post from creative writing. Blogging uses short, curt articles that are directed towards a single subject, the language may sometimes express flippantly – more like how one generally speaks. In a written story, the narrator is trying to weave the words to create an image; therefore the language is polished and precise. Bloggers use words that are SEO friendly, so there is always a chance of running into frequently used vocabulary that may subsequently make the text become repetitive.

For a blog post it will be acceptable to state that “The table was decorated beautifully and the dishes served were unique and tasty” as this clearly states the facts however a writer would fare better by creating an imagery of the food using colours and taste and plating in the description to convey how tastefully the dining table was laid and how tasty the dishes were.

ParagraphsBlogging uses short sentences. People have shorter attention spans and tend to skim through the text so blogging grasps their attention by breaking the text. In creative writing, the sentences are descriptive and longer as one is attempting to create an environment that is bettered with the help of stretched descriptions and elaboration. The whole substance in writing a story would be lost if the approach is similar to that of blogging. Descriptiveness is the essence of a beautiful sentence and that is a main difference between the approaches.

ConversationWriting a story may be in the first person, second or third. This is done to ensure that a multi-dimensional concept is created. Blogging is usually in the first person because it is in the nature of a conversation. It usually gives the reader a sense that the blogger is talking to them specifically. In that sense, creative writing elevates the communication, since conversations can have layers and it allows the writers to delve into fiction.

DraftDrafting a blog seems simpler since it is the voice of the blogger. It is sprinkled with their own experiences of the world around them and therefore it develops with a voice that easily gets communicated. Drafting a creative piece or a story may take a bit more effort as the writer is attempting to build a narrative with dimensions that may vary over the text. To bring the effect or speak in a different voice, one may require going through the emotions and method of a character and eliciting that. It is time-consuming and can involve multiple edits. There is a story arc that needs to be considered and kept in mind during the construct.

Writing in the first person for a blog post means that the character can convey emotions in a straight fashion, however in a story due to the multiple characters involved the draft has to be alternating between conversations among various sets of people and this in itself makes the task at hand varied.

NarrativeA blog tells one story, the truth that the blogger wishes to communicate based on their first-hand experience or feelings. However, a story may bring forth alternative views due to the characters it may involve. With a story, the writer attempts to deal with a problem and find solutions to create drama. This makes the narrative go through troughs and peaks as and how the writer wishes to narrate. The same approach may not work for blog posts. A blogger would generally like to attend to a topic from a subjective point of view thereby addressing the readers’ need to know specifically about that topic.

Having said this, both approaches find their own readership. But both may not be confused because they both tend to address different points of view. With story-telling as your aim, you may require to evolve from blogging. However, if it is blogging that interests you then the points required to be kept in mind need to be addressed keeping it at bay from creative writing or fiction writing.

Hope these points have been able to bring clarity in some way. Happy Writing!